Novice duffer named Maurice Flitcroft takes a whack at the British Open. He was a crane operator at a shipyard, one of those places with lots of hyphens in the name — Barrow-in-Furness. And at 46, he decided to take up golf, and at the highest level, too.
If you want a touch of whimsy and dreaminess in a bloke who “shot the worst round in the history of the open,” you couldn’t do better than Mark Rylance.
Sally Hawkins plays the faithful, plucky love of his life, and “couldn’t do better than” fits there as well.
All this June 3 release needs to do is manage the fun of “Greatest Game Ever Played” and daft ambition of “Eddie the Eagle.”
Because there’ll always be an England, you know. Keep calm and carry on topping the ball — worm burner — sending it skittering into the gallery, the first available sand trap or — best case scenario — the rough.